Overcoming Setbacks

In business, as in life, we are often taken aback by unexpected events. Sometimes these events are beneficial and help us achieve our goals. However, more often than not, we face challenges that have the potential to permanently derail us from making our dreams come true.

A setback can take any form and come at any time. It may be a large client who takes his business elsewhere or your wife filing for divorce. It may be a natural disaster that is out of your control or the corporation laying off people to cut costs.

Control your reactions

No matter what the setback, there is one thing that you can control at all times: your reaction. That's right. If you are having a bad day at the office, there is no need to be a sourpuss and make life miserable for everyone around you. Suck it up and carry on as if all were well.

Whatever the problem may be, you will need to address it quickly and come up with a solution. The best way to do this is by remaining calm and levelheaded. Emotion will cloud your judgment, so keep it in check, or a small problem can quickly escalate into a big one.

Temporary failure

For most people, especially ambitious and competitive ones, setbacks are not always easy to swallow. By our very nature, we do not like to fail. The first time you rode a bike, you probably fell off after five seconds. Did you just quit and go back to sucking your thumb? Of course not. You got back on that thing and tried until you could ride it around the block!

Do you still handle failure in the same gung ho manner today? Suppose you were up for a promotion and did not get it because the boss thought that schmuck from finance was a better pick. Would you sulk and be grouchy for the next three months? Would you have a big chip on your shoulder and start slacking off on the job? If so, that may be why the boss picked the other guy instead of you.

The first thing you need to keep in mind if you fail at something is that failure is nothing more than a temporary setback. Upon seeing failure in this light, you will come to realize that failure is not so bad after all, provided you keep trying until you get it right.